And the daily service to Washington DC will be operated by larger A330-300 aircraft on four out of the seven days, increasing capacity by 31 per cent on the route.

Aer Lingus says it has taken delivery of four long-haul aircraft in the last 24 months, with eight Airbus A321 LR aircraft set to join the fleet in 2019 and 2020, “to support further transatlantic route launches in the coming years”.

The carrier will serve a total of 11 North American destinations next summer: Boston, Chicago, Hartford, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto and Washington.

Commenting on the launch of the 2018 summer schedules, Mike Rutter, COO said:

“We are delighted to announce Philadelphia as our new route for summer 2018. We are proud to continue to deliver on our promise to grow our transatlantic network and further strengthen Dublin Airport as a leading gateway to North America.

“We are delighted to be delivering on the growth opportunities that being part of International Airlines Group has presented over the past two years. The introduction of Philadelphia comes on the back of the four new routes announced in the last two years, namely Los Angeles, Newark, Hartford and Miami.

“The future holds bright and interesting prospects for Aer Lingus as eight new Airbus A321 Long Range aircraft are set to join our fleet in the coming years and by the end of this year, 2017, we will welcome another brand new Airbus A330.”